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07.03.2013

Expert-Level DCAF Schengen Integration Task Force Meeting

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - The DCAF Schengen Task Force continues to provide specific assistance to border police services and MoI experts during the process of the preparations and undertaking the responsibilities arising from full EU membership and, consequently, Schengen integration. It offers assistance in the preparation of action plans and strategies required to fulfill the EU/Schengen obligations, as well as in the creation of needed administrative capacities for their implementation. In order to guarantee national coordination at the expert level, each meeting of the “core group” members of the Task Force is accompanied by a separate meeting which also involves experts from the police, border police and ministries of the interior/security, but also experts from other parts of state administration dealing with EU affairs.

At the meeting in Sarajevo, held 5–7 March 2013, the on-line self-evaluation system in the area of Schengen integration developed under the auspices of the Programme was successfully launched. DCAF and EU experts from Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia contributed the latest developments in the EU domain, such as newly proposed legislation and the entry into operation of the Schengen Information System Second Generation (SIS II), the proposed Smart Borders Legislative Package and state-of-play in the legislative procedure on the legal basis for the European Surveillance System (EUROSUR). Common recommendations were agreed to serve as guidelines to help maximize the effectiveness as well as cost-efficiency of future participation in related twinning projects undertaken to improve either strategic planning or more narrow objectives, such as technical assistance or trainings, utilising the experience of Slovenia, Croatia and some other EU Member States.